Southeast Region EMS Council

MINI-GRANT

INFORMATION GUIDE

16 June 2019

1.WHAT IS A MINI GRANT?

Mini grants are small monetary awards intended to help pre-hospital emergency medical services cover the costs of providing emergency medical care within Alaskan communities. They have traditionally fallen between $900 and $1,500 and may be used to cover any kind of expense directly related to EMS. Mini grants for Southeast Alaska communities come from the Southeast Region EMS Council’s operating grant awarded through the Department of Health and Social Services. These grants are subject to rules set by the State of Alaska and the Southeast Region EMS Council. Actual dollar amounts may change each year depending on funding approved by the State of Alaska.

2.DOES YOUR COMMUNITY QUALIFY?

The following criteria have been adopted by the Southeast Region EMS Board of Directors to determine eligibility for mini grants. Only those communities meeting ALL of the following criteria are eligible to apply.

a) Only social units, cities, boroughs and unified home rule municipalities as defined and recognized by the Alaska Department of Community and Regional Affairs are eligible.

b) To be eligible, a community must have an active, organized EMS service that is sanctioned by the city council, borough assembly, or non profit community association.

c) A responsible individual will be designated by the community to interface with SEREMS in the administration of grant funds.

d) The community must complete all DHSS and SEREMS paperwork accurately and within appropriate deadlines to be eligible for consideration.

e) Only one entity within a city or borough is eligible for mini grant funding unless there is more than one recognized city within a given borough. For example, the city of Saxman would be eligible to apply for independent funding even though Saxman falls within the Ketchikan/Gateway Borough.

3.HOW DOES AN EMS SERVICE APPLY?

Each year a Mini Grant Application packet will be sent to all communities within Southeast Alaska. The packet will contain a checklist of items to be completed in order to apply. A deadline for submitting Applications will be announced in the packet. Applications MUST be postmarked by that deadline in order to qualify.

4.HOW ARE MINI GRANTS DISTRIBUTED?

Southeast Region EMS Council recognizes that communities with the ability to levy taxes have more options for funding emergency medical services locally than do places with no ability to tax. Higher dollar amounts will be awarded to Unincorporated and Second Class Cities. Lower dollar amounts will be awarded to First Class Cities and Home Rule Municipalities. Exact dollar amounts for distribution will be determined by the Southeast Region EMS Council Board of Directors annually, following the final notice of grant award for the current fiscal year. Mini Grants will be allocated to communities, as soon as possible, but no later than October 31 of each fiscal year.

5.WHAT CAN MINI GRANTS BE USED FOR?

Mini grants may be used for any legitimate expense associated with emergency medical services, such as tuition, travel expenses related to training, disposable supplies, etc.

6.WHAT ARE YOUR COMMUNITY'S RESPONSIBILITIES?

a) AUTHORIZATION - When a community wants to spend mini grant funds, the authorized community representative must notify SEREMS in writing describing what they want to purchase and how they are planning to go about the purchase (see OPTIONS FOR MINI GRANT PURCHASES section below). SEREMS reserves the right to charge a community’s Mini-Grant award for any outstanding accounts receivable balance with SEREMS aged 60 days or older.

b) MATCHING REQUIREMENTS - To help make the mini grants go a little farther and encourage community EMS support, the Council's Board of Directors has established a policy requiring communities to match a portion of their mini grant.

NO MATCH is required for training expenses.
Level Zero and One Communities: A 25% match is required for operating and equipment expenses.
Level Two & Three: A 50% match is required for operating and equipment expenses.
These match requirements can be waived by the Executive Director.

c) OPTIONS FOR MINI GRANT PURCHASES:

Have SEREMS order the item for you:
Call us to assure funds are available and tell us what you want to purchase.
Send us receipts showing you have spent funds outside the mini grant equal to your matching requirement OR we'll bill you for the matching requirement.
Order the item directly.
Call us to assure funds are available and tell us what you are purchasing.
Send SEREMS a copy of the bill and packing slip.
OR send us receipts showing you have spent funds outside the mini grant equal to your matching requirement.
SEREMS will reimburse you less the matching requirement.
Order the item and have the vendor bill SEREMS:
Call us to assure funds are available.
Tell us what you are purchasing.
Send SEREMS a copy of the packing slip once you receive the item.
SEREMS will pay the bill and bill you for the matching requirement UNLESS you send copies of receipts showing you have spent funds outside the mini grant equal to your matching requirement.

d) PAPER WORK - when you receive an item purchased with mini grant funds, you must send copies of any packing slips, invoices and/or statements to the SEREMS office. We need to verify that you received the item, add it to our permanent record, pay any outstanding bills and keep the paperwork for our files.

e) SPENDING DEADLINE - Mini Grants must be spent or encumbered by June 15th. If the grants are not spent by the June 15th deadline, the remaining balance may be redistributed to other EMS programs. To encumber funds, you must make a written promise that you will spend the money on a specific item (purchase orders are the usual document for this purpose).

7.WHAT ARE SEREMS' RESPONSIBILITIES?

NOTIFICATION OF GRANT AVAILABILITY - SEREMS will send mini grant applications out to communities by the end of the calendar year. Notifications of mini grants awarded will be out no later than October 31.

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - SEREMS will send updated financial statements to the authorized community representative after the end of every quarter (September 30, December 31, March 31 and June 30). If you have a question about your mini grant balance, please contact the SEREMS Office at any time.

PURCHASING ASSISTANCE - SEREMS has a variety of supplies available at competitive prices. If you want to order any EMS supplies or equipment, contact the SEREMS Resource Manager. We have various catalogs and supplier information that may save you time and money. For assistance in locating EMS training courses, contact the SEREMS EMS Training Coordinator at 747 8005.

Mini-grant Information Guide FY2017, last revised 20161